Triggered By A Movie

[Bickslow]

Movies are tough...they are one of my biggest triggers and completely unpredictable. For me it's gotten to the point where avoidance is really the only and best option, even seeing a movie theater can set me on edge. Unfortunately all I can recommend is having someone very knowledgeable and trusting screen what you watch, or just avoiding things that are "too real" such as live actions movies and tv shows. Avoiding something too realistic can really help, and has been a huge boon to me. You're not alone though, and it's a tough problem :/ I really hope you can find a way to make it easier on yourself!

 

[Gloww33]

Yes, I stopped watching TV a long time ago and do movies which are way more controlled. I make sure movies are done earlier in the day just in case there is a trigger and night time is scary enough for me. I have learned to research things before I watch them, or I have bad symptoms. I know not to watch crime, mystery, or horror movies. Suspense is okay as long as it isn't a psychological thriller. I stick to romantic comedies, comedies and some adventure movies....sorry you went through that, my symptoms of watching anything other are immediate panic attacks, bad nightmares.

 

[patronus]

Yes. Scenes involving sexual assault or rape, scenes that involve suggestions of children put in sexualised situations, and scenes involving drowning, can leave me feeling on edge. I will usually feel a nervousness and a panic deep inside my chest and an instinct to either leave the room or shut my eyes and shut it all out. I can end up feeling like it's happening to me all over again instead of just being there on the TV screen.

It doesn't always happen like this. If I know to expect these sorts of scenes, I can handle it a bit better most of the time. I can usually shut myself off better to what's happening on the screen if I know to expect it. If it happens unexpectedly, though, that can be a different story.

 

[Friday]

Yep.

What's particularly fun is when I stop watching the movie on the screen, and either start watching a movie in my mind, or even more surreal... Add in all the requisite smells.

 

[passerine]

Oh yes. I don't own a TV and hardly ever go to the movies for this very reason. I am super sensitive to visual/audio stimuli. I do enjoy watching movies that have been carefully selected and deemed "safe" to watch on my computer, but I definitely have to be careful because I'm so easily triggered.

I often describe my flashbacks like movie clips flashing in my mind's eye. If I see some sort of violence in a movie, particularly abuse / sexual violence, I find it hard not to get sucked in and for the story to connect to my own in such a way that I can't separate what is happening on the screen from reality. It is scary.

 

[Kefira]

Yes. My ex wouldn't believe that this was a problem until he showed me a string of movies including one that I really cannot watch without going away mentally and being jumpy for days. Even after that he had a lot of assumptions about what I could and could not watch. I made up my mind that I wasn't going to watch something he thought I should because I prescreen using kids in mind, which gives a good rundown of the basic sexual and violent acts in a movie in addition to a number score. I just know that any thing over a certain number I won't be able to watch without being triggered. And I read carefully for a couple of situations. Not fool proof, but it's better.

Anyway, he bullied me into watching it anyway while friends were around, because it's a comedy so I guess he thought there was no way it could be that bad. I was angry with all of them, left the room in huff about 3/4 in and we had a very long talk about it the next day. To their credit, even if they teased me about it everyone in the group asked what "Kim" had to say about a movie they were considering watching around me after that. And they listened when I said I'd rather not, despite the grumbling.

 

[Truthful_Whispers]

I am triggered not really by any movies, but by a music video. Martina McBride's Concrete Angel. It is a great video, and truthful, but it upsets me. Maybe for two reasons. The first is naturally the abuse and resulting death that the little girl suffers. The second reason is probably because the girl reminds me of a best friend I remember having when I was around 6 yrs old. My mom babysitted her, and I guess she was my first little girlfriend. We were very close, and played together all the time. My stepfather started sending my mom to the store to get him some cigarettes and beer. And, while she was gone, he would come for my little friend. I remember she would be in my room with me, and he would come take her into another room and molest her. She would cling to me with a terrified look in her eyes when he came for her, but there was nothing I could do to help her. One day, her parents found out, and to the best of my memory, there was a court battle, and I never saw her again. I have carried the guilt of failing to protect her all of my life, and will continue to bear that cross.

 

[shimmerz]

Martina McBride's Concrete Angel.

I too relate to Concrete Angel. I see the terror in that girls eyes and freeze the video every time. I can feel it. I am so very sorry Whispering that this happened to your friend and how you carry guilt for it. Sick, sick people.

 

[sun seeker]

So do I, but for me it isn't the look in her eyes but in her friend's eyes when she is being beaten and he can't do anything to make it stop.

 

[shimmerz]

but in her friend's eyes when she is being beaten and he can't do anything to make it stop

Very interesting given our stories Sun. T doc always said that you can only relate to that which you have known.... and the fact that I related so strongly to what was in that song he later said was an absolute in his mind as to what I had experienced (although we didn't know at the time). Interesting. Thank you.